Heart of Fire: Amity's Desolation
by Teeanne
Summary: Before the events of Divergent, Amity has been attacked. In the midst of the chaos, Jessamine Tillers escapes and finds herself in the not-very-dependable care of the Dauntless. Who would have a reason to attack Amity? Where do her loyalties lie? And most importantly, can her wounds ever heal? OC x OC fanfiction, my first Divergent Fanfiction ever!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER! All of the Divergent faction ideals, world, concepts, etc belong to Veronica Roth! The only things that I claim my own are the non-canon characters and my take on the Amity Initiation! Thank you for reading!**

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**Chapter One**

"Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty!" Amber yelled. "Ready or not, here I come!"

I hugged the branch I was on tighter, clinging onto the apple tree like one of the green geckos that also shared my perch. Squeals pealed from below me as Kelly was found, and I smiled to myself, stifling a laugh. No one ever looked up in the trees till the last second, and unlike many of the other girls I preferred to wear red instead of yellow, along with long khakis instead of flouncy skorts like they did.

"Still haven't found you?" I almost tumbled off the tree in response to Cooper's light voice, and I craned my neck upwards to see him sitting casually on one of the higher branches, crunching an apple loudly.

"Yeah, no one looks up do they?" I laugh, and he grins down at me. Cooper had been my friend since way back, and honestly he hasn't really changed; still the same mischievous and cheerful outlook on life.

"I've noticed," he replies with a smile in his voice, then nods over in the general direction of the peach trees. "I think Amber gave up."

"Jessamine! Come on out!" Amber calls, and laughing, I dropped down from the tree effortlessly.

"Tree again?" Kelly asks, shaking her head good-naturedly. "You have a knack for high places Jessamine."

"Yeah well, it's not like it's off limits," I say, and look towards the wooden cabins that dominated the majority of the area owned by Amity. A woman with auburn hair waved at me, and I turned back to Amber.

"Sorry Am, my mom's calling." She nods and both her and Kelly waved as I ran towards the cabin with round windows. The grass felt damp under my bare feet, and the wind laden with the sweet smell of fruit blew tangles into my hair. Life in Amity was wonderful, and although I was only fifteen, I had no doubts about my Choosing Day choice.

Springing up, I smiled broadly as I jumped into my mother's arms, and the scent of sage wrapped around me as she wrapped her strong arms around my waist.

"Well, aren't you a mess today?" She joked, ruffling my hair fondly while ushering me inside. "I've got something for you darling."

Inside, our cabin was a cheery yet down to earth place, a leftover trait from when my mother was in Abnegation. Bright yellow curtains hung over the peculiar circular windows that were unique to our home, and rustic furniture graced the interior. Two green doors led to our separate bedrooms, and a smaller red door led to our well-stocked pantry.

"Oh my gosh, are those..." I gasped as my mother stepped aside to reveal a pale yellow pot with a short pole inside. Winding around the stick was the vine of a star jasmine, and towards the top were fifteen fully bloomed jasmine flowers.

My mom walked over and squeezed my shoulder. "Lovely aren't they? Your namesake, Jessamine."

I turned back around to hug her again, and said gratefully, "Thanks so much mom! They're beautiful!" Her green eyes, identical to mine, crinkled into a smile as she hugged me warmly back.

The moment was broken by a loud rapping on the door, and a middle aged man with graying brown hair entered.

"Hello Melody, I was wondering if you could lend us a hand in the herb gardens again?" Ronald Stone asked, smiling cheerfully like only a true member of Amity can. My mother's name is actually Melanie Tillers, but everyone called her Melody because she had a beautiful singing voice that matched her elegant appearance.

Looking into the mirror to my left, I pursed my lips as I noted the differences between us. I had dark brown shoulder length hair while she had a gleaming auburn, and my face was still childlike and punctured by a flat but round nose along with pink lips that were fuller on the bottom. Pretty much the only thing we had in common were the green, oriental eyes and a slim but lean build.

"Of course Ronald! And Jessamine would love to help too, won't you dear?" She asked without needing to. Any chance to go to the herb gardens, I grab with enthusiasm.

I nodded and followed both of them, walking a little behind them as they chatted aimlessly about the weather and whatnot. All around me were Amity dressed in reds and yellows and browns, the colors bright against their tanned skin.

The herb garden was located behind the main greenhouse, a nearly divided patch of soil with flourishing herbs of all kinds. Sage, spearmint, basil, oregano... There were too many to count. Crouching by a bed, I started to pull out some dandelions that crowded the herbs, and saved the leaves for later. Beside me, my mother checked the plants, occasionally tugging off a dried leaf or maybe adding some more water.

"Have you heard from Kalvin?" She asked, and Mr. Stone shook his head sadly. Kalvin was Ronald and Delia Stone's only son, and two years ago, on his Choosing Day, he transferred to Dauntless. Why he chose to live with the cruelest faction, I don't know, but ever since then Candor have been more rude and curt with us than usual. It was horrid, how unkind and inconsiderate they were with their words.

Even so, peace in Amity had remained, and I had thought it would always be that way, tranquil and content.

Until we heard the screaming.

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**Well, that was short, but I promise I will be uploading more later on! Thank you so much for reading, and please review and follow/favorite! All constructive criticism is much appreciated, since this is my first time writing a Divergent fanfiction as I am fairly new into the fandom. Once again, R&amp;R, thanks!**

**~JasmineMoonblossom**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello people! Sorry for the wait, but I'm very busy because we're moving. Again. . Also, after this chapter I may not be able to access the internet for quite some times, once again apologies. :( Also, just a reminder that flames and mud-slinging don't help ANYONE! I greatly appreciate constructive criticism, but like all of you(hopefully), I'm human and I have feelings too, okay? Okay. **

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**Chapter Two**

Explosions everywhere. Everywhere, things went up in strange blue flames. The tree next to me. The patch of herbs in front of me. The green door behind me. Blue flames everywhere.

I was in a ring of fire. Shattered glass fell around me. I cannot feel the cuts. Can't feel anything but the heat, blistering heat licking up and over my skin.

I screamed at my muscles to move. To get away from here, away from the fire. Fire.

Suddenly I found myself running, my bare feet burning like the flames around the floor. Adrenaline pushed me forward insistently, and pain sprang from the soles of my bare feet. I didn't feel, didn't care, I just needed to get away from here. Behind me there was another explosion, my ears ringing from the sound.

I ran through something, something sharp and metallic. My face felt wrong, and a thick liquid dripped into my eyes, blurring my vision. Fire leapt up towards the desolate sky, the burning trees black against the brilliant blue of the strange flames. All around the cabins I grew to love collapsed in on themselves, reduced to charred logs and ashes.

Still, I kept running. I had tunnel vision, with only the flame-free opening occupying my thoughts. _Just get to that opening. Keep running. _

Burning branches tumbled in front of me, but I simply jumped over them. The soles of my feet were seared with fire, but I kept running. Crackling flames closed the distance between me and the doorway, but still I ran, barely feeling the fire that licked up the hem of my shirt before dying away.

_Just a little farther… _It was stifling, the heat. I couldn't keep this up forever, even now my legs felt pumped with lead. My head spun, disorienting and confusing at the same time. A scream tore its way up my throat and out of my mouth, but I could only manage a desperate croak. That was odd; the ground was tilting ever so slightly.

The top of my foot caught onto a root, and my body slammed face first onto the ground knocking the wind out of me. The last thing I remember before passing out was shouting, and flares of blue above my distorted face.

Darkness is a peculiar thing. It wraps around you like a cocoon, but it isn't warm. Floating in the darkness right now, I had no idea what was going on, just that I felt weightless.

Suddenly voices penetrated the dark, and I strained to hear them. My arms were like rubber hoses at my sides, and try as I might I couldn't open my eyes. In fact, I couldn't feel my body at all.

"I found her in the Amity rubble," A boyish yet distinctly female voice stated, and someone-or something-touched my forehead. Inwardly I flinched, but my numb body was prone to the poking and prodding along my arms and neck.

"Is there something wrong with her face?" Another person asked, and this person had a louder and definitely masculine voice.

"I don't think she would like anyone to see her face after what happened to her," The girl said tightly. "Even you, Shard."

Shard? Was that the name of the other one? Straining my ears to hear more, I sensed myself settling back into my body again. But the two had ceased any audible conversation, with only low murmurs to let me know they were still there.

What the girl said itched at the back of my foggy mind. Something was wrong with my face. As my head slowly cleared I realized that the skin along my face and arms felt pinched, too tight for my body, kinda like a shirt that was too small. The faint scent of disinfectant wafted up my nose.

Forcing the rest of the fog away from my mind, I tried desperately to move, but it was as if my mind was strangely detached from my body.

"Abnegation already has their hands full with the other Amity refugees," The girl's voice drifted back. "I guess she'll have to stay with us for the time being. Candor won't help Amity, and you know the Erudite won't take care of her if we shoved her with their lot."

Silently I agreed with her. The Candor would lie before they would agree to help us. And the Erudite, although highly intelligent, probably won't tear their four eyes from their books and computers if they could help it. According to the girl, Abnegation has the rest of my family, so that means I'll be in…

My heart skipped a beat as the information registered in my fuzzy mind. Of the five factions, Candor, Erudite, and Abnegation were discarded ideas. That left Amity and Dauntless.

I'll have to stay with Dauntless.

I laid there for an immeasurably long time, unable to move. It was like someone had pumped some sort of paralysis serum into my body, and I was grateful my eyes were closed. My breathing was unnaturally deep and even. Usually I took smaller, shallower breaths, but maybe paralysis does that to you.

"She should be able to hear us by now," I heard the same girl again, and I inwardly stiffened.

"Good," Again that other boy. "I'll leave her to you… Oh, and Elizabeth? Don't scare her."

The girl, Elizabeth, laughed lightly, and footsteps echoed as she walked closer to wherever I was laying.

"Hey pansycake, you can wake up now," she said, poking my shoulder. "Its fine, I'm not going to beat you up."

I wrenched my eyes open, only to see a girl about my age standing over me. Elizabeth, I guessed. Her wavy brown hair was dyed electric blue at the tips, and on her shoulder was a tattoo of a coiled snake. She wore a black tank top and what looked like black skinny jeans. A Dauntless girl.

That's when I noticed there was something covering the lower half of my face. Some sort of medical paper that smelled bitter. Reaching up to pull it away, I froze as I saw my arm.

The skin of my left arm was completely marred with thin scars. Burn marks covered my entire arm, and on my elbow were a few ugly puncture marks as if someone had stabbed me with a sharpened pencil.

"What… what happened to me?" I whispered in horror, feeling my face with my other hand. Under my trembling fingers I could feel bumps and ridges spread all across my face. My skin throbbed and itched, and it was hard to resist the instinct to scratch at my face.

She sighed and said gently, "We found you three-quarters dead in the Amity desolation. I'd say that barbed wire cut you up pretty bad. It's technically a miracle you can still see out of both eyes. My name is Elizabeth by the way, yours?"

"Jessamine," I replied, still exploring the surface of my face with a mixture of numbness and absolute revulsion.

"That's quite a mouthful… Jess sound good?"

I pursed my lip thoughtfully. Jess. A new place, a new name.

Shrugging, I answered, "Yeah, I guess."

Elizabeth grinned widely, and then suddenly her face grew solemn. "Do you want to… See yourself?"

Without hesitation, I nodded. She sighed heavily and pulled a mirror down so it was eye level with me. "No offense, but you might want to brace yourself."

Shutting my eyes, mentally I steeled myself for my reflection. Her tone implied it was probably pretty bad, and I could tell just by touching my face. Breathing evenly, I opened my eyes.

And stared into the mirror.

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**Please review! :D I hope all of you liked this chapter, and I Pinkie Pie promise I WILL write more whenever possible! (Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!)**

**Once again, thank you for reading, and reviews are very welcome!**

~**Jasmine Moonblossom**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

A stranger with my eyes and hair stared back at me. In the glass was a girl with hard, green eyes and coarse brown hair framing her face. Yet, her face was the most horrifying of all. Despite the childish, heart like shape, cruel scars ran all around the outer skin of her face. Pinkish ridges and bumps covered what remained of her tan skin. Long slashes crossed over her slanted eyes, and it was a miracle that her emerald eyes were still clear. The ugly scars twisted and warped her face into a monster.

I opened my mouth to speak, but then the girl in the glass opened her cracked lips as well. That's when reality came back. The girl in the polished mirror... Was me. A monster.

"I look like a monster," I whispered, and even my voice sounded distorted. Reaching up a hand, hesitantly I touched my cheek again, hoping in vain that this was all a dream.

I caught another glimpse of green eyes looking back at me with sorrow before Elizabeth set the mirror back into the stand next to me.

"We did everything we could Jess..." Elizabeth paused before going on, her voice surprisingly gentle and sympathetic for a Dauntless. "But even the fast healing serums developed by the Erudite can't heal scars."

Blankly, I nodded, not really hearing her. Every single conscious muscle in my sorry body ached, and even the act of sitting up strained my spine.

"You'll probably be in here for a few days," she continued, then added, "Oh, and I hope you like your new clothes."

Instinctively I glanced down at myself, and with a start I realized that instead of khakis and a red shirt I was now wearing black jeans similar to Elizabeth's. My feet were completely swathed in about twenty something layers of bandages, and a deep maroon tank top hugged my upper body.

"They're wonderful," I forced myself to say happily, wincing at the odd garble in my voice. "Thank you for your hospitality."

She nodded and looked at me thoughtfully, "How old are you Jess?" To my surprise she didn't seem bothered by the sloppy condition of my face, and I figured this stuff happened in Dauntless all the time, the cruelest faction.

"Fifteen," I answered as cheerfully as possible, trying hard not to lisp.

Her eyebrow arched in near disbelief. "Really? You look like you're twelve or somewhere along that line. I'm fifteen too."

I nodded, and immediately regretted that decision. A wave of nausea claimed my head, and the room swam before my eyes in a blur of dulled colors.

Gently, Elizabeth pushed my shoulder, and weakly I fell back down onto the lumpy cot. Reaching over, she covered my face again with the same medical tissue.

"You better rest up, I'll be back later to see how you're doing," her voice drifted into my ears, and I was too tired to acknowledge her words.

Closing my eyes, gratefully I sank back into the darkness in my head, my senses dimming one by one.

"Welcome to your room," Elizabeth declared with mocking joyfulness. I grimaced in reply and wheeled myself in. Since my legs were weak, they had made me sit uselessly like a dummy in a simple black wheel chair. My heart was still recovering from the physical trauma of maneuvering across the narrow bridges branching the Pit. Seems like the Dauntless had something against railings.

"It's..." I searched for the right word. "Simple."

Simple described the dorm perfectly. It was little more that a lighted cave, with bunk beds off to the sides, and two doors leading to what I assumed to be restrooms. The bare bulbs of blue light lit the dorm dimly, casting slanted, solid shadows across the stone floor.

Elizabeth shrugged passively, "Well, us Dauntless aren't known for glamorous interior design."

I nodded in agreement, and for the twentieth time in the space of thirty minutes glanced curiously at the tattoo curled on her well muscled shoulder.

"Why'd you get a snake?" I asked abruptly, still getting used to the sound of my voice.

She looked down at my blankly for a second before understanding dawned on her face. "Oh, that? Well, I used to have a fear of poison." Her face broke into a rueful grin. "Ask Shard. Every time I ate I would literally tear my burger into hundreds of pieces first, then check each piece one by one until I ate them. But I got over it." Reaching up, she tapped the artfully designed snake thoughtfully. "Snakes always struck me as poisonous, and I like snakes."

Inspecting the tattoo, I glanced up cautiously as there was a sharp rap on the door. A boy with ruffled black hair streaked with red poked his head in. Quickly I turned around, hiding my face from him.

"Come on Liz, knife practice," he said gruffly, and with a start I recognized his voice from before.

"Should I bring Jess?" Elizabeth asked, gesturing to me. I could feel him training his brown eyes on the back if my head for five seconds before nodding curtly.

"Let the pansycake tag along," he decided. "Be there in five."

She angled her head in acknowledgement, and the door clicked shut.

"Knife practice?" I questioned tersely, butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

Elizabeth shrugged and nodded in confirmation. "It's just fir practice... You know, for initiation." She reached under a bed and pulled out two black cloth squares. Folding the bigger one into a triangle, she handed it to me.

"For your face," she explained as I stared at it blankly. Subconsciously I reached up to touch my cheek, feeling the bumps and ridges before tying the triangular cloth under my eyes.

Smoothing out the other rag, she leaned down to tie it around my forehead, covering the scars and only leaving my eyes alone. Beneath all the fabric I felt suffocated, but it was better than facing the other Dauntless with my monstrous face exposed. And I had an uncomfortable feeling that Elizabeth was the most friendly out of them.

"Come on then banjo strummin' softie," she called over her shoulder, and I amended the thought earlier as I wheeled myself out. Friendly, but not exactly empathetic in terms of me handling myself.

As I worked the wheels of my wheelchair, I smiled wryly to myself when we reached the very edge of the precarious rock bridges stretching like spider webs over the Pit.

"Looks like I'll be stuck with you for a while," I said to the wheelchair, before laboriously maneuvering my way across the gaping hole in the Dauntless compound.

**Sorry for the late update everyone! I just moved, and won't have steady wifi for a while... Once again, all comments and constructive criticism are very welcome! Thank for reading, and hope you like the story so far! **

**~JasmineMoonblossom**


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